ACE-Step DAW

Looking for a full-featured, production-ready experience? Try ACE Studio — our professional AI music creation platform.

A browser-based Digital Audio Workstation powered by ACE-Step 1.5 for AI music generation. Tracks are generated sequentially in a "LEGO-style" pipeline — each new instrument layer is musically aware of everything generated before it.

Features

AI Music Generation

• LEGO Pipeline — Sequential generation with cumulative context (drums → bass → guitar → vocals)
• Cover Generation — AI-powered cover creation from existing audio
• Repaint/Edit — Selective regeneration of specific time ranges
• Vocal2BGM — Generate accompaniment from vocal tracks
• Audio Analysis — AI-powered BPM, key, and genre detection
• 16 Generation Presets — Pop, Rock, Jazz, Electronic, Hip-Hop, Classical, Lo-Fi, Ambient
• Model Selector — Choose DiT and LM models, LoRA support

DAW Capabilities

• Multi-Track Timeline — Arrangement view with clip-based editing
• 4 Track Types — Stems (AI-generated), Sample (imported audio), Sequencer (step-based drums), Piano Roll (MIDI)
• Piano Roll Editor — Canvas-based MIDI note editor with explicit tool modes, velocity lane, slide notes, and grid snap
• Step Sequencer — FL Studio-inspired drum pattern editor with beat pads
• Effect Chain — 6 built-in effects (EQ3, Compressor, Reverb, Delay, Distortion, Filter) with per-effect UI
• Mixer Panel — Per-track volume, pan, mute, solo, channel strips
• 6 Synth Presets — Piano, Strings, Pad, Lead, Bass, Organ (Tone.js)
• 16 Drum Sounds — Synthesized kicks, snares, hi-hats, claps, toms, cymbals (4 kit presets)
• Loop Browser — 15 built-in synthesized loops with search, filter, and drag-to-timeline
• Recording Engine — Microphone input, real-time waveform, count-in, input level metering
• Automation — Breakpoint envelopes with interpolation for volume and pan
• Smart Controls — Per-track parameter panels
• Project Persistence — Save/load projects via IndexedDB
• WAV Export — Bounce mix to stereo WAV file
• Keyboard Shortcuts — Comprehensive shortcut system

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• ACE-Step 1.5 API server running on localhost:8001 (default), or use cloud API

Quick Start

npm install
npm run dev

Opens at http://localhost:5174. The dev server proxies /api requests to the ACE-Step 1.5 backend at localhost:8001.

Using Cloud API

To use the ACE-Step cloud API instead of a local server, configure the backend URL in Settings → API URL: https://api.acemusic.ai

Production Build

npm run build
npm run preview

Tech Stack

• React 19 + TypeScript + Vite
• Tailwind CSS v4
• Zustand (state management)
• Tone.js (synth engine, effects, drum synthesis)
• Web Audio API (playback, recording, rendering)
• IndexedDB via idb-keyval (audio blob storage)

Project Structure

src/
  components/
    assets/          # Loop browser, assets panel
    controls/        # Smart controls panel
    dialogs/         # New project, settings, export, instrument picker
    generation/      # AI generation panels (cover, repaint, vocal2bgm, analysis)
    layout/          # App shell, toolbar, status bar
    mixer/           # Mixer panel, effect chain
    pianoroll/       # Piano roll MIDI editor
    sequencer/       # Step sequencer, beat pads
    timeline/        # Timeline view, track lanes, clip blocks
    tracks/          # Track list, track headers
    transport/       # Transport bar, tempo/time display
    ui/              # Shared UI components (knob, fader, slider)
  constants/         # Defaults, track definitions, generation presets
  engine/            # Audio engine, synth/effects/drum/recording/automation engines
  hooks/             # React hooks (audio, transport, keyboard shortcuts)
  services/          # ACE-Step API, generation pipeline, project storage
  store/             # Zustand stores (project, transport, UI, generation)
  types/             # TypeScript interfaces (API, project, audio)
  utils/             # WAV encoding, waveform peaks, color, time helpers

Development

See AGENTS.md for the complete development workflow, rules, and required skills.

See docs/dev-process.md for competitive research index and system test checklists.

For story-driven QA planning and release runlists:

npm run qa:runlist
npm run qa:runlist -- --status=release-critical,core-regression
npm run qa:validate

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
Space	Play / Pause
Enter	Stop (return to start)
R	Toggle recording
L	Toggle loop
K	Toggle metronome
N	Toggle snap to grid
Z	Zoom to fit project
Home / End	Seek to start / end
← / →	Nudge playhead ±5s
X	Toggle mixer
B	Toggle smart controls
O	Toggle loop browser
Y	Toggle library
E	Edit selected clip
S	Split clip at playhead
Q	Quantize selected notes
Delete	Delete selected clip/notes
Cmd+Z / Cmd+Shift+Z	Undo / Redo
Cmd+A	Select all clips
Cmd+D	Duplicate clip
Cmd+Scroll	Zoom timeline
Cmd+Shift+I	Add track
Cmd+Shift+E	Export WAV
?	Keyboard shortcuts dialog

Development Stats

Metric	Value
Source code	~24,000 LOC
Unit tests	94
E2E tests	21
Test suites	18
Components	60+
Keyboard shortcuts	25+
CI pipeline	type-check → unit-test → build → e2e-test → Copilot review

Architecture

Frontend (React 19 + TypeScript)
├── Store (Zustand) — projectStore, transportStore, uiStore, generationStore
├── Engine (Web Audio + Tone.js) — AudioEngine, SynthEngine, DrumEngine, EffectsEngine
├── Components — Timeline, Mixer, PianoRoll, Sequencer, EffectChain
├── Hooks — useTransport, useRecording, useEffectsSync, useKeyboardShortcuts
└── Utils — dragMath, chords, dawStateSummary, time, wav, waveformPeaks

Agent-friendly: Every feature accessible via window.__store.getState().actionName() and window.__dawSummary().

License

ACE-Step DAW is licensed under GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0-or-later).

Why this repository is no longer MIT-only:

• The current DAW bundles and executes multiple @strudel/* packages.
• Those Strudel packages are published as AGPL-3.0-or-later.
• Because the Strudel feature is integrated as part of the shipped app runtime, the safest compliance path is to distribute ACE-Step DAW under AGPL-compatible terms as a whole.

If you need an MIT-only distribution, do not ship the current bundled Strudel integration as-is. Use a clean-room replacement, remove the Strudel feature from the shipped app, or obtain an alternative license from the Strudel copyright holders.

For hosted deployments, make the corresponding source code available to network users. The in-app status bar includes a visible source/license notice, and you can override its links with:

• VITE_SOURCE_CODE_URL
• VITE_LICENSE_URL
• VITE_COPYRIGHT_NOTICE

See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md for bundled Strudel attribution details.

ACE Studio

ACE-Step DAW is an open-source project. For professional music production with higher quality models, real-time collaboration, and a polished workflow, visit ACE Studio.